A vehicle is equipped with a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for controlling an interior temperature and for a pleasant interior of the vehicle.
Recently, the vehicle uses a full automatic temperature control (FATC) system that provides a pleasant environment by automatically controlling the interior temperature according to a temperature set by a user.
In the FATC system, when the user sets a temperature in order to control the interior temperature of the vehicle, an air conditioning controller or a FATC controller receives detection signals from a solar radiation sensor for detecting solar radiation, an external temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of external air and an interior temperature sensor for detecting the interior temperature of the vehicle. The air conditioning controller then calculates an interior thermal load based on sensing values from the sensors, and determines a discharge mode, a discharge temperature, a discharge direction, and a discharge amount in consideration of an air-conditioning load corresponding to the interior thermal load.
The air-conditioning controller controls the interior temperature and operation of the system and receives the sensing values from a discharge temperature sensor detecting discharge temperature. A heater temperature sensor detects the temperature of an electric heater, for example, a PTC heater, (usually, an auxiliary heater in a vehicle with an internal combustion engine and a main heater in an electric vehicle). An evaporator temperature sensor detects the temperature of an evaporator and controls related parts such as a mode actuator, a temperature door (temperature control door) actuator, a wind direction control actuator, an air-conditioning blower, a compressor, and an electric heater so that air for air-conditioning is supplied in accordance with the determined discharge mode, discharge temperature, discharge direction, and discharge mount.
A technology of individually conditioning air in divided spaces inside a vehicle has been known in the art, and in relation to such individual air-conditioning in a vehicle.
Such automotive individual air-conditioning has to determine whether there is an occupant seated in a vehicle and a position of the occupant in the vehicle. A buckle switch sensor outputting signals, depending on whether the occupant fastens his/her seatbelt, or a mat sensor installed in a seat cushion of a seat is generally used in the related art for detecting whether the occupant is in the seat and the position of the occupant.
However, the mat sensor is provided only at a left rear-seat and a right rear-seat in the vehicle, and thus, it cannot determine the exact position of the occupant positioned between the left and right rear-seats or not seated.
When the mat sensor detects weight of the occupant or a pressure depending on a sitting position of the occupant, it recognizes objects such as packages or goods as occupants, so that it is impossible to discriminate between occupants and objects for individual air-conditioning.
The buckle switch sensor and the mat sensor for rear-seats are expensive and large in weight, thus deteriorating performance of the vehicle such as fuel efficiency.
Unlike a vehicle with an internal combustion engine using power from the engine and used heat for cooling/heating, an electric vehicle is equipped with an electric heater and an electric compressor that use power from a battery, and thus, the mileage by one-time charging is considerably reduced by unnecessary power consumption by an air conditioning system.
In the electric vehicle, the air conditioning system consumes a large amount of electric energy, and thus, a need exits to measure the energy consumption.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore, it may include information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.